January 04, 2024

Born in 2005, Killed At The Front


Born in 2005, Killed At The Front
Russian soldiers with military equipment.
Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Wikimedia Commons.

On December 31, the BBC reported it had obtained the name of an 18-year-old Russian contract soldier who was killed in Ukraine. It was the first known casualty of a soldier born in 2005, the youngest so far.

Stas Silchenkov was born on May 20, 2005. In 2023, he graduated from Smolensk school Nº24. Silchenkov entered the Smolensk Regional Technological Academy but didn't finish. On September 5, the 18-year-old signed a contract. On November 17, he was killed.

According to Irina Silchenkova, the mother of the soldier, she was informed of the death of her son in Sinkovka, Kharkiv Region, nearly a month after he was killed. On December 16, Silchenkova "said goodbye to my son Stas," burying him in the village of Nizhnyaya Gedeonovka.

In April 2023, the State Duma passed a law that allowed 18-year-old students to enlist in the army as soon as they finished school. The bill was passed unanimously except for one abstention.

Mediazona, together with the BBC and a team of volunteers, maintains a list of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine.

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